Huge Waves Pound the Wedge While Swells Cause Flooding Along OC Coast

Sets have been about eight to 12 feet in Newport with even bigger waves at the Wedge, and the high surf is forecast to stay through Tuesday.

Newport Beach lifeguards have performed 20 rescues from Saturday through today, according to Rob Williams, assistant chief of Marine Operations. The life guards also made about 1,000 preventative actions. There were also four medical calls requiring paramedic attention, Williams said.

Elsewhere, Seal Beach officials slightly extended a berm to hold back massive waves today that caused some minor flooding while beaches further south coped with the pounding from the high tide.

Sets averaging six to eight feet high with some occasional 10-footers pummeled Capistrano Beach in Dana Point. The high tide eroded sand, pushing it into the parking lot and knocking over concrete benches, according to Jason Young, chief of Orange County’s lifeguards.

The heights of the waves was “impressive,” but not nearly as awe- inspiring as “the swell coming from a long distance away so it’s extremely powerful,” Young said.

Flooding was reported in the Aliso Beach parking lot in Laguna Beach with waves pushing some sand inward, as well, Young said.

Waves also carried over into the parking lot at Capistrano Beach, he said.

“The waves are breaking on the boardwalk,” Young said.

Lifeguards performed seven rescues over the weekend while recording 1,200 “preventative actions,” which usually amount to warning beachgoers to stand back or get out of the water, Young said.

In Seal Beach, lifeguards and public works officials set up a berm in an area where there has been prior flooding.

“There was a little bit of trouble with spooling water at Ocean Avenue and about 10th (Street),” according to Marine Safety Department Lt. Chris Pierce.

The sand sponged that up water by about 10 a.m., Pierce said.

Meanwhile, a berm put up for that troublesome area was extended to patch a new hole, Pierce said.

“We’ve had zero reports of property damage,” Pierce said.

There were no rescues today, Pierce said, noting “the big cool down” that “kept people out of the water.” The waves were also “a little crumbly,” which deterred even the most courageous surfers, he said.

Minor flooding occurred about 9:30 p.m. Sunday around the Seal Beach Pier at 10th Street and Seal Way, said Seal Beach police Sgt. Ron Lavelle, but no damage was reported then either. The water washed up over the sand to the boardwalk, past where a 20-foot winter sand berm was removed last month.

OTHER PATCH HEADLINES

• Astronomical High Tide Floods Seal Beach, Residents Brace for More
• Toddlers in Critical Condition After Near-Drownings
• Thousands Flood the Streets of Newport for the 11th OC Marathon
• Several Arrested in Laguna Niguel DUI Patrol
• Activists Put Judge on Notice that They Intend to Oust Him for Showing Mercy to Toddler Rapist
• Fire Engulfs Coto de Caza Classroom, Damages School
• Autopsy Does Little to Solve Mystery of Laguna Woman Whose Body Was Found by Caltrans Workers
• Watch: Pair of Great Whites Spotted Playing in OC Surf

City News Service

Photo Credit: Twitter user Jennifer Thang ‏@jenniferthang and Ocean Institute ‏@OceanInstitute

Get Patched in! Sign up for free news alerts for your town.

ALISO VIEJO | FOUNTAIN VALLEY | LAGUNA BEACH | LAGUNA NIGUEL-DANA POINT |LAKE FOREST | LOS ALAMITOS-SEAL BEACH | MISSION VIEJO| NEWPORT BEACH-CORONA DEL MAR | RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA | SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO | SAN CLEMENTE